Matthew Taylor at Kickers Offenbach [R]

Yep. DM3,000 became 1,500 when the conversion went through. Adjusted for inflation back to 1986, we're talking in the region of 3.5k Euros per month in today's money. But BL2 player wage inflation has way outstripped the German CPI. He'd probably be making 4k Euros per week today.

In the mid-80s D1 regulars were starting to make some serious coin, along with D2 stars, but squad players weren't making much dough.

Back in the early 80s Eamonn O'Keefe was a bit of a prospect for the Ireland MNT, but couldn't break through at Everton. After only 40 games in 3 seasons he quit for Wigan in the fourth division because his wages more than doubled (allegedly there was also a 10k signing-on fee in a Channel Islands bank account). He got Wigan promoted, but his wages pushed them into liquidation, and his career petered out in the lower leagues.

Also in the 80s, there was a non-league team that pushed that great Everton side of the mid-80s to two FA Cup replays. Their star midfielder was an Irish guy of around 27-28, called Hogan IIRC, who'd been let go at 19 by Aston Villa. Everton eventually went through but Hogan got several offers from Top Flight and D2 teams. He opted to stay semi-pro because he was making more money as a regional sales manager for a double-glazing company.

Soory to be so Irish-related, but these cases are pretty representative of the UK situation in the mid-80s

 

Great NYT article on the match-fixing case that enveloped ULM in 2009. Useful info on life as a journeyman pro in the RL.

Money quotes

“They have all the pressures of professional football: the fear of injuries, the weekly competition to be selected to play, the 90 minutes on the playing field on the weekend, the knowledge that your career is over at 35,” said [then-Ulm coach Ralf] Becker, a former professional player who retired at 34 because of an ankle injury.
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and

For all the frustrations, many here have an undiminished passion for the game. They are local heroes. Local children ask them for their autographs. They are, in many ways, living their boyhood dream.

[Burak] Tastan, for one, says he feels fortunate to be paid at all to do what he loves most. Maybe, he admits, some players earn the same as waiters or hairdressers. “But we get to play football all day,” he said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/07/sports/soccer/07soccer.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
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... and another one today in a 2-0 win over Spielberg. I think that's 3 goals in 5 games to start the year.

 

Steven?

 

Matt Taylor scored his fourth goal of the season on Friday in Saarbrücken’s 1-1 draw -> http://t.co/wtX0p2RjkQ pic.twitter.com/AL1cD2wOhG

— Over There (@socceroverthere) October 19, 2015

 

Saarbrücken vs. Saar Saarbrücken Highlights https://t.co/6Tr8Bv8cX8 Matt Taylor scored his fifth goal of the season on Saturday.

— Over There (@socceroverthere) November 16, 2015

 

Scored a brace in a 4-0 win over Steinbach: http://www.kicker.de/news/fussball/...-fc-saarbruecken-106_tsv-steinbach-21269.html

Now has 8 in 15 games.

 

Is Matt Taylor the "striker who went to UCLA" who suggested Julian Buescher try college soccer in the US? See below.

http://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2016/...g-julian-buescher-beat-culture-shock-rise-top

 

He definitely played 2 seasons with Münster

 

That gave me the laugh of the week. Not tall enough Germans

 

Is there some sort of a logistics rating service, sort of like Who Scored?

 

8 goals, 3 assists he finished the season with

 

I figure he is done in Germany. Unless, he just wants to live over there.

 

Great point. Dude has made quite the career of the lower divisions over there.

 

And he is 34 and will be 35 in October. Probably time to hang them up.

 

He has moved again:

Verstärkung für den #OFC: Matthew Taylor kommt an den Bieberer Berg. Der 34-jährige Stürmer unterschreibt für 1 Jahr. Welcome! #nurderofc

— Kickers Offenbach (@OFC_offiziell) August 11, 2016

Reinforcement for the #OFC: Matthew Taylor comes to the Bieberer Berg. The 34-year old striker signs for 1 year. Welcome! #nurderofc

Kickers Offenbach is in the Regionalliga Südwest, the German 4th tier.

@bungadiri @Friedel'sAccent -- Let's retitle to "Matthew Taylor at Kickers Offenbach."

 

Have been to a couple of games there on the Bieberer Berg. It's a great atmosphere and they absolutely hate Eintracht Frankfurt. I like a good hate-based rivalry even though they haven't played at the same level in a long time

 

Bryan Gaul is at Kickers Offenbach and Devann Yao had a stint there last season.

 

Scored what became the winning goal today in a 3-2 victory


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Hasn't scored since but has played as a sub in every game, including the extra time
Cup loss to Hannover.

 

At age 35, Taylor continues to play for Offenbach in Germany. They are currently in 15th in the southwest division of the fourth division. Nevertheless, Taylor is a legend for having remained in Germany so long, almost ten years since he first arrived in 2009. Excluding native German-Americans, that's longer than Berhalter (7 years in Germany), though not past Cherundolo or David Wagner yet (both spent about 15 years playing in Germany).

http://us.soccerway.com/players/matt-taylor/6926/

http://us.soccerway.com/national/germany/regionalliga/20162017/sudwest/r36661/

 

Wagner is German-born-and-raised.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Wagner_(soccer)

 

amazing he spent so much time in the lower leagues. I'm curious if he should ever dwell deep into his time there. player rights and amenities at the clubs and of course how much he enjoyed his career.

 

Bump.

 

Isn't Wagner a German-American? If not by birth, then certainly by upbringing.